Boniface
by Qube
Summary: This is the story of Bo after six years have taken place. Prosper has gone to college in Rome and left Bo behind at Ida's house. Bo meets a new thief who really is a thief unlike Scipio and quickly befriends him.
1. Boniface and the thief

Boniface looked longingly into the calm waters of the canal. He was thinking of the times when Venice had enough magic for everyone, when nothing could go wrong. The times when he and Prosper had thought that they would be together forever. It was early in the month of December. Prosper had left in the beginning of Autumn to go to a college in Rome. Boniface stayed in Venice and was now eleven. And even though he had spent six years in Venice, the beautiful city hadn't lost all its magic for him. The golden horses on the Basilica still told him about the time they were stolen. The abandoned movie theater had been torn down and the property had been sold, but Victor and Ida had bought the golden-starred curtain and it had been draped over a wall in the room that Boniface, Hornet, and Prosper used to share. Boniface had dropped the nickname Bo, because it made him sound like he was still five. Boniface and Hornet still shared the room, but Hornet was going to leave in January. She had decided to skip college and had gotten a job opportunity in a huge library in Rome. He slowly looked around. It was nearing midnight and the city had calmed down. There was nobody in the canal, on the walkways, r on the bridges. He was entirely alone on this lonely street in Venice. He started home to Ida's house.

While walking down an alley, he happened to look up to the sky. He looked just in time to see the small burlap sack that was falling from one of the windows that promptly fell on him and knocked him to the ground. Stunned, he didn't get up immediately. A small person likely around eight or nine fell next to him, but managed to land on their feet and remain standing.

"Nice catch!" the boy said with a smile. His face was obscured by dark face paint, but his eyes shone in the moonlight and Boniface could see the boy's dark and unruly hair. The boy winked at him, picked up the bag,(It wasn't all that heavy), and started walking calmly down the alleyway. Boniface slowly got up, brushed himself off, fixed his sandy blond hair, and ran to catch up to the unusual thief.

"Where are you headed?"Boniface casually inquired.

"I dunno. I never go anywhere in particular except places to find food. I sleep wherever I end up. It changes every night. I've slept in old cellars, dungeons, the old _piombi_ prisons, and tons of abandoned buildings" he bragged.

"Well what's your name?" Boniface asked.

Without warning, the kid turned and tackled Boniface to the ground.

"You're really too curious for just being a kid not much older than me walking around at night. Are they making kids work as _Carabinieri_?".

"No way! I'm no policeman! I just wanted to know if you had anywhere to stay and if you didn't I was going to see if you wanted to stay at my house. It's right by the Campo Santa Margherita" Boniface protested.

"There aren't any police stations near there, but why do you want to help me find a place to stay the night?" the boy said curiously.

"I used to be part of a group of thieves. We were led by the thief lord and we lived in an abandoned movie theater. It was sometimes cold and not very fun when we were by ourselves, but we were all friends and we helped each other get by when things got tough. I figured that nobody should need to be alone all the time" Boniface said.

"Fine. I'll go with you. It does get lonely sometimes when you're living on your own. By the way, they call me the spider monkey, but my real name is Alphonse and I've been a thief for five for six years".

Alphonse helped Boniface to his feet and followed him through the alleys until they reached the Campo Santa Margherita. They then snuck in throught the back door of Ida's house. Boniface quietly led Alphonse on a tour throughout the house, then showed him the bed that used to belong to Prosper.

"I knew I could trust you to not take me to the _Carabinieri_," Alphonse said hazily,"You just aren't the type of person who'd turn a kid like me in".


	2. Alphonse

Sorry I left some of you waiting, I've been busy.

"What are you doing up late at night and bringing another thief into my house! I went through a ton of trouble with your group of thieves before you started living in my house and now you repay that hard work by bringing more thieves and vagrants into my home!".

Ida was absolutely furious when she found out that Boniface had brought a new person in without her permission. She had also been up half the night looking for him after realizing he was missing. Alphonse was still asleep and nobody was sure whether or not to wake him up or to let him lay there as if passed out. Ida had at least had the sense to yell at him in her darkroom which was pretty much soundproof. Boniface took the beating without protest or even speaking. He had been told to never leave the house at night when Ida was asleep because she was bound to wake up and notice he was gone. After Ida had cooled down, Boniface slowly and quietly explained his reasons for bringing Alphonse home then walked out without another word. When he got inside, Alphonse was walking through the house, sleepily rubbing his eyes and stopping to look at the huge expanse of pictures on the walls. He looked at Boniface and smiled.

"_Buongiorno_ I haven't had that much sleep in years. Usually when I find a place it's either very far away so I don't get to sleep quite so early, or it's a place where I have to watch out all the time. Hey, do you want to go somewhere today?".

"Uh, okay" Boniface said, bewildered by Alphonse's sudden outburst. Alphonse's eyes lit up and he grinned.

"You won't believe where I'm going to take you," he said,"there's this cool place where every day something incredible happens". Boniface was curious, so they scarfed breakfast, Alphonse thanked Ida, and they ran out the door. Alphonse led Boniface through alleyways and walkways. He led Boniface to the rear of the Basilica where there was nobody around.

"We're almost there," Alphonse said quietly,"I'm going to climb up this wall and throw down a rope. I knew it was a good idea to keep a rope up there".

"Why are we going on top of the Basilica? What's up there that I need to see?".

_"Pazienza, _just wait till you're up there. You'll see what I want to show you in a few minutes". Alphonse climbed up the wall just like a spider monkey and disappeared from sight. Boniface waited a little while, then a rope came down and nearly hit him in the head. He dodged the rope and quickly climbed up. He wasn't as fast as Alphonse, but he was still faster than any adult would be. Once he got up, he saw a world different than he would have ever imagined.

The rooftop of the Basilica shown in the sun. Looking out to the rest of the city, he saw the glistening water of the canal. The sun colored the rooftops of the buildings in a golden brown as the smells of the city drifted through on the breeze. He was caught by the magic of Venice now just as much as he had been when his mother had told all of the incredible stories that had brought him and Prosper here in the first place.

"_Avanti _there's still more to see" Alphonse said calmly and quietly. Boniface turned and looked. Alphonse was pointing to the center between the Basilica's large domes.

"Why are we going there? The view is over here".

"The true magic of this place is over there. It's the one place on this roof where you can see what I brought you here to see". Ignoring how strange the remark was, Boniface followed Alphonse into the spot between the domes.

Once they were there, Alphonse turned around. When he turned around again, he had in his hands a life-sized stone statue of a hunting falcon. He stroked the falcon's back once. The stone crumbled off, revealing brown feathers, a beak, and talons with claws as sharp as knives.

"This is the true magic of Venice. The stone, the statues, the boats, and even the buildings have a story to tell. You just have to know how to ask". Alphonse then grinned and threw the falcon into the air. As the falcon hit the air, it took off and glided through the skies as if it truly were a natural falcon. It circled the building twice, then landed on the stone base in Alphonse's hands and turned instantly back into stone. Boniface stared; his mouth gaping at the outstanding display of the city's magic.

"Impressive, yeah" Alphonse boastfully joked.

"Yeah! This is incredible. How did you do that. How did you turn that statue into a real falcon!" Boniface practically yelled with the impossibility of the event before him.

"The people who built some of the first Statues and buildings put all of their emotion into their work. That gave the first statues this ability and started a tradition. Since then, all Venetian buildings or artwork has had its own life and emotions. But lately, people have stopped working so hard to make these, so the emotion isn't there. Since most people can't call that emotion out, they don't really care about that part of their statues. That's why I steal the older statues. It lets them be alive".

"But where do you put all the statues that you steal?"Boniface asked, still in awe.

"Why, right here" Alphonse said with a grin. While opening a small trapdoor well hidden in the massive stone rooftop. Boniface stood in awe yet again. Hundreds of statues stood there. Some very much alive while others were still.

"These must be worth millions of lire! And they're all able to come to life!?".

"Most of them can, but some only have a glimmer of life in them. I can't help them all". He turned abruptly. "I hear footsteps coming from the edge of the roof. We must hide! _Avanti!_".


	3. Chapter 3

They ran across the roof looking frantically for somewhere to hide. Alphonse silently led him to the side of the building where there was only a five foot drop to the balcony. They rushed down and hid behind two decorative shrubberies. A man's voice could be heard above.

"The roof is closed to any visitors at all times! If you are still here, please leave immediately! Next time I hear footsteps on the roof I will call the police! Ans if that's you Alphonse, please don't come up here. I know that you like the gargoyles and the view, but every time you come up here, you endanger my job. I know that I can't catch you and I can't keep you from coming up here again, but it wouldn't kill you to find a new hideout for whatever you do." the man then walked across the roof and a door could be heard opening and shutting. Alphonse waited for a few minutes and then motioned to Boniface to climb back up to the roof. His shoes now expertly gripped the indents in the stone and he made it up only a few seconds after Alphonse. There was no security guard in sight and Alphonse was leaning against one of the domes.

"So he doesn't know about the statues or why you come up here?" Boniface asked wearily, still in shock from the secret that he had just been entrusted with. Alphonse stared into space for a while, then replied.

"No he doesn't know. Nobody can know. Except for you and me. All Guerino knows is that I don't really have a home, I come up here a lot, and I'm way faster and nimbler than him. If he even heard something like this, he'd disbelieve it immediately or his head would explode. I also can't let him know that there are stolen statues anywhere on this roof. That's why its best if I move them. Do you know any friends strong enough to get these statues somewhere else safe and do you know a good place?"

"I think I know someone who would be perfect for that." Boniface reassured Alphonse. He then climbed down the wall of the Basilica. He crossed the Piazza San Marco and went down to the docks. Mosca and Riccio were working on carting a load of fish with a forklift. Boniface ran to them and helped them tie down the load and when they were done working, Boniface asked,

"Can you come to the Basilica tonight with that forklift? I know it sounds really strange, but a friend of mine really needs help moving some statues off of the roof. And he kind of needs them off of the roof as soon as possible. He's in danger of being _'_caught by the _carabinieri'_"_. _He said these last few words in barely a murmur of a whisper. "I figured that out of any of my friends, you guys could help best and were the ones who would help wether it was legal or not. I figured that after all that time being thieves under the thief lord, it would be ok with you guys to help a young thief in trouble. He has an honorable purpose, just trust me on this. I've been sworn to secrecy, so I can't really tell you much more". He begged and pleaded as Mosca and Riccio seemed to suspiciously think it over. After a while of Boniface absolutely begging on his knees like a toddler begging for candy from their mother, Riccio and Mosca both smiled simultaneously.

"Of course we'll do it. Just like the old days, no questions asked, but you really know how to beg. If you'd just asked us, we'd have been in on it without all that pleading, but you can really put on a performance! Next time you visit, I should bring a camera! You act a lot like you did six years ago. You really need to learn to leave yourself some respect." Riccio chuckled as he said this ruffling Boniface's hair, and suddenly, he was back six years ago when they had nothing but their friends and the food gained from Scipio's 'adventures' through the more prominent houses of Venice. Back when there was no school to worry about passing and no parents to constantly worry. When they all lived in the present instead of looking to the future. There was nothing better than those times listening to Hornet read one of her stories, or watch Mosca try to build his boat, or listen to the night's story of a difficult thievery. He came back from those times just in time to hear Mosca ask, "What time should we be there?".

"I think it's best if we meet around one in the morning." Boniface replied, "There shouldn't be many people awake to notice at that time, and as long as you keep the forklift from beeping and waking anyone up, we should be fine".

"Well don't worry about the horn or the warning beeps, those have been broken for ages." Mosca said jokingly, "But isn't that a wee bit past your bedtime? There isn't really anyone up at that time, so it should be fine as long as you and your friend are up that late, you can count on us to be there. _Arrivaderci_". He and Riccio walked away laughing to each other about this sudden adventure after four years of "playing it safe". Boniface turned and ran across the docks towards the Basilica and ran straight into a _carabiniere_. He went flying backwards, startled by this sudden obstacle.

"Stop right there!" the _carabiniere_ ordered. "Why are you here on the docks disrupting the fishermen? A child your age should be playing with his friends instead of hanging around the docks of all places".

"I'm just friends with those two fishermen that walked away." Boniface answered quickly. He needed to get back to Alphonse to tell him the plan.

"Well I've been searching into their backgrounds, and you may want to be careful around them. It seems that a few years ago, they might have stolen some jewels from the Loredan house. I don't have enough proof to bring them in, but they're still suspicious characters in my books. You might want to reconsider friendships with thieves".

Boniface rolled his eyes. If the _carabiniere_ only knew. He put on a fake smile and said, "Okay officer. I'll stay away from the docks when the workers are around and stay away from thieves!". He then quickly ran the other way to avoid any more questions. Once off of the docks, he tried to join in on a soccer game in the street to avoid any more suspicion and eventually noticed the police officer had gone. He passed the ball to the kid who seemed to be able to keep the ball from the other team best, he slipped away from the game and rushed to the museum to find Alphonse.


End file.
